Delay
by BlueAndBronze11
Summary: A 20-year-old Astrid looks back on her memories of Hiccup. This was gonna be a three-shot, but clearly not anymore. Enjoy chapter one, anyhow.


I first saw it happen when we were nine. I didn't know it was happening at the time, of course, but as the years went by I recognised what was going on. I didn't really pay too much attention to Hiccup back then, but this was significant enough for me to remember for until now.

It was a quiet afternoon. I was sitting a little way away from the village in a tree, kicking my legs. I suddenly caught sight of the chief, Stoick, marching determinedly back towards the town. I sat up; trying to see what was going on. Then I saw that Stoick wasn't alone. He was dragging Hiccup, such a slight figure that I'd missed him, back to the house they shared.

Hiccup was always in trouble, which was mostly entertaining for the rest of us. I decided that finding out what he'd done now was probably more interesting than kicking a tree, so I slithered down from my branch and set off running towards them.

They reached the house just as I reached them, and I watched as Stoick pushed Hiccup through the doorway.

He left it open for a few seconds to yell "Stay right there! If I find you've left the house between now and dinner, I…"

Stoick trailed off. He cleared his throat, searching for something to say. Finally, he gave up and yelled even louder.

"Well, you- you'd _better_ not!"

I heard a faint agreement from Hiccup as his father slammed the door. Stoick gave a weary sigh, running a hand over his head. He turned to walk back down to the main village, but of course nearly bumped into me. He jumped in shock, then recovered and exhaled slowly.

"You're very quiet, aren't you? Scared me half to death!"

The burly chief patted me on the shoulder, continuing to talk. "You're not at all like Hiccup. He can't manage to set foot outside without bringing something crashing down to the ground. He leaves a trail of destruction wherever he goes." Stoick sighed, muttering " _Like today_ ," under his breath.

"What did Hiccup do this time?" I asked, grinning. I found all of the chief's son's escapades very entertaining.

Stoick sighed and shook his head. "That boy will be the death of me. I took him fishing down at the lake this morning. I leave him for two seconds to go and check on the dispute about those sheep, and he had completely disappeared!"

"Where was he?"

Stoick rolled his eyes, but gave me a small smile. "You'll never believe this, but he was looking for trolls. Trolls! I spent _four hours_ searching for that boy!"

I giggled. "Why is he so...?" I trailed off, unable to find a description.

"Impossible? I've no earthly idea," said Stoick. "But I wish to the gods that he wasn't. Sometimes I wonder how much easier my life would be if I had a more Viking-like child. Someone like you, Astrid."

I smiled, but glanced towards the door of Stoick's house, conscious that Hiccup could probably hear us. Stoick, oblivious, clapped me on the back.

"I'll see you at dinner, Astrid," he said. "Remember it's the whole village gathering tonight."

I nodded, and he strode off further into town, greeting someone who promptly presented him with several rusty buckets and a frayed rope. He began talking to this other person animatedly, and within seconds he had been absorbed into the bustle of the town.

I was turning to go back to my tree, when I suddenly heard footsteps from the other side of Stoick's door. The noise was far closer to the door than I'd thought Hiccup was, meaning that he had _definitely_ overheard the conversation. I grimaced a bit then, and then jumped in surprise as the door creaked open.

Hiccup jumped back too when he saw me, flushing red and smiling awkwardly. I gave him a pointed look.

"Didn't your dad tell you to stay here?" I asked.

Hiccup gave an uneasy laugh, twisting his fingers together in a nervous knot. "Well, yeah… but I uh, need to look for something."

"What, like a troll?"

Hiccup's cheeks grew even redder. He started protesting. "Trolls are-"

"Look, It doesn't matter to me _what_ you do," I said. "Go and get in trouble for all I care. I'm not going to tell your dad."

Hiccup mumbled what might have been a 'thank you' and raced out the door, clutching his notebook in one hand.

The rest of the afternoon passed without any other issues, and before I knew it the sky was growing darker. I didn't even think about Hiccup, I just assumed he'd returned at some point. As Stoick had mentioned, the village was all eating together in the Great Hall that night, so as the moon rose I made my way down to it.

I filed in with all the other Vikings, occasionally exchanging greetings someone or other. The Hall seemed very warm in comparison to the cool night air, and I immediately felt more relaxed and at home in the cavernous building. I wove my way towards the other kids, sitting down at our smaller table off to the side. Fishlegs' parents brought over a plate pile with fish, and we tucked in greedily. It was only then that anyone realised Hiccup was gone.

"Hey, where's the runt?" said Snotlout, glancing around.

"He was looking for trolls before," said Ruffnut. "Maybe he found some and he's decided to live with them instead."

"Good riddance," said Snotlout with a sneer, and he and the twins giggled.

There was a pause as everyone chewed their food, and then Snotlout spoke up again. "No but seriously. If he _was_ looking for trolls, do you think maybe he got lost in the woods?"

Ruffnut put her fish down. "Or got eaten by a dragon?"

"Or maybe he fell off a cliff!" added Tuffnut.

I stopped paying attention to the conversation as the suggestions got wilder and instead looked around for Stoick. I felt certain that he would be extremely angry with Hiccup, especially after their discussion earlier. Sure enough, I saw him at the head of one of the tables, sipping a drink and glowering at the Hall door. I looked towards the door too, and continued glancing up at it as I finished my meal.

Then, just as people had begun clearing the tables, the door creaked open. As it did, I heard the sound of rain from outside and saw a small figure slip into the room. Hiccup crept silently over to the kids' side of the room, but it was too lat. Stoick had seen him.

The chief stood up sharply, pushing his way through groups of chatting Vikings and reached his son, who was dripping wet. Hiccup's father grabbed him by one arm and shook him ferociously.

"WHERE IN ALL OF-" The chief paused as he regained false calm. " _Just where exactly have you been_?"

Hiccup gave a signature nervous laugh. "I- I was-"

Stoick's face was red with rage. Still gripping his son's thin arm, he marched out of the Hall with Hiccup struggling to keep up. The doors slammed shut and I suddenly noticed that most people had stopped talking. I listened intently to hear what was going on outside, but the rain blocked out pretty much any sounds.

A few moments later, the chief burst back through the door. He practically threw Hiccup to the ground and stormed back over to his own seat. He sat down heavily. Conversation began to spring up again and laughter filled the Hall once again.

Hiccup, still sopping wet, slunk over to the kids' table in disgrace. He sat down at the seat furthest away from the rest of us. He didn't look up. I suddenly noticed that one side of his face was a lot redder than the other. I cringed internally. Parents on Berk didn't often hit their children, but Stoick had a village to run, a frustrating child to raise, and no partner to help him. I could see why he'd been driven over the edge.

Everyone finished their meals quickly if they hadn't already, and the village started to scatter back to their homes. I stepped outside, eyes suddenly watering as the wind and rain hit me. I made my way to my house. As soon as I got there, I quickly changed into my night things and went to bed without even thinking about the night's proceedings.

That is, until just after the middle of the night. I had always been a light sleeper, so when I heard a huge crash from the forge I awoke instantly. Sitting bolt upright, I glanced at my parents' beds. They were still fast asleep. I crept over to the window, attempting to make out the shapes I was seeing in the dark. There was light coming from the forge, but it was dim and my eyes were bleary. I decided to take a closer look.

I slipped into my boots, pulling a fur around my shoulders for warmth. I snuck out the door, tiptoed down the laneway, and arrived at the forge in a couple of minutes. Treading softly, I walked over to look inside.

The crashing sound had been a whole heap of axes falling to the floor. Amidst them was the small, hunched figure of Hiccup. His knees were drawn up to his forehead and his body was shaking slightly. I quickly ducked behind a wall. If people cried, I didn't want to see it.

As I walked away from the forge, I saw that I wasn't the only light sleeper in the village. A large figure was hurrying through the darkened village, not as quiet as me and somewhat frantic. Stoick, I realised. I began to follow the chief and watched as he entered the forge. There were a few more clatters as he bumped into some equipment, and then a silence as he pulled up short. He'd seen Hiccup.

My first instinct was lunging to sprint away from the building, as I didn't wanting to eavesdrop on any conversation that might happen between the two. Then, realising that running away would make enough noise for them to hear me, I just stood there. My stomach churned guiltily as I overheard muffled sobs from behind the wall.

Neither spoke at first. Then Stoick cleared his throat.

"You shouldn't have been out there Hiccup, not after I told you."

Hiccup sniffed. "I came back, though."

"Yes, but I had no idea where you were. I was worried."

There was a dead silence.

Then Hiccup spoke up in astonishment. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course. You're my son."

Hiccup's voice wavered. "Oh."

There was another long pause. It was then that I decided I couldn't listen to a private conversation like this anymore. I backed away from the forge slowly, turning around and increasing my speed as I got further away. I ran all the way to my house, opening the door and slipping in as quietly as I could.

The memory of that night stuck has stuck with me since then. It's only been in the last couple of days that I've realised what it was signalling.

* * *

 **So, there's chapter one. Feel free to tell me what you thought. Sorry it was kind of short, I have a hard time trying to write long chapters.**


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